Welcome to the Mom Blog Money Blog Series! For 30 days we are following the Mom Blog Money Blog Workshop (affiliate link) sharing some tips so that we can work through the steps and grow together. Grab your coffee, have a seat, and join us.
Day 12 of the series was about getting paid for blog page views. Today we are talking about…
Getting paid to link
There are so many different ways to monetize your blog. One of them is through affiliate links.
Laurie does not use affiliate links herself…and admits that it’s pretty silly she doesn’t because she knows she could pull in plenty of extra cash if she did. Even though Laurie has decided not to have Affiliate Links be part of her earnings, she admits it is definitely one proven way of earning Passive Income.
How to use Affiliate URLs
In the course there is a LONG list of sites that talk about how to get into using affiliate links on your blog, what plug-ins can help with these links, etc.
When working with affiliate links you have to create your own opportunities. Which means if you have a homeschooling blog with readers who also homeschool and you are writing a post about your favorite curriculum and books…you should totally throw some affiliate links into that post since your readers are likely to want to buy those items you suggested.
There are tons of Affiliate Marketing Sites out there to help you with using links in your posts, and Laurie provides a solid list to check out.
Trends don’t make you rich
Since we are talking about “getting paid to link” it’s important to note that there are lots of trendy things in blogging that you DO NOT get paid for. This is why it’s so important to keep track of your progress as you move through the course using the printable worksheets…so you can really see the results.
In case you were wondering, here are a few trends that make OTHER people money in blogging:
- Guest posting – if you don’t link back to yourself properly
- Not truncating your RSS feed
- Doing giveaways for free
Be sure to check out the full list that is included within the course.
No one learned how to be successful at blogging in a day, and one of the first things bloggers learn at conferences is that they need set themselves up as an expert in their field. This means lots of bloggers are “Faking it ’til they make it”.
Anyone who can speak, write, or sign can give advice….but it’s important that you only listen and follow those who are actually succeeding in their field.
Are you taking advice about your blog from the right people? Have you had success with affiliate links?
Don’t miss Day 14 which focuses on rewarding your readers.
A couple of common affiliate programs are:
Amazon
Escalate Media
selling eBooks for other bloggers (you can make up to 50% of a book sale)